History

In 1951, Bill and Vonette Bright began Campus Crusade for Christ at the UCLA campus with a bold, unwavering commitment to the college campuses changed by the gospel message. Their vision didn’t stop there - “win the campus today and change the world tomorrow” was their dream - to see God use them to radically change the world. (read more about the early years here)

By 1960, Campus Crusade for Christ had been established on 40 different campuses in the United States and in two other countries. In 1967, under the leadership of Josh McDowell, CCC came to the University of British Columbia in Canada! Amid peace protests and a shifting culture, Josh regularly presented the good news of Jesus Christ to students in an intelligent, compelling way and watched as God began to change individual lives and begin a movement that would sweep across our country in a few short years.

1974 was the year that Athletes in Action launched in Canada. Paul Henderson, made famous by scoring the winning goal in the Canadian-Soviet hockey series in 1972, helped provide leadership to the ministry as God used his recent fame as a stepping stone to an audience with professional and varsity athletes.

The 1980s were hit with the JESUS film on big screens around the world! Now the most watched film of all time, the JESUS film is translated in over 900 languages and watched by 20 people every second; 6 billion since 1979! A powerful tool to present the gospel in the heart language of every man, woman, and child, God has used the JESUS film to change lives in the heart of the jungle in Brazil, in a village in Nepal, or in a city in a closed Muslim country.

In 1995, Campus Crusade was recognized by the US News & World Report as the top religious charity in the United States. Just one year later, in 1996, Money magazine ranked the ministry as the most “efficient” religious ministry in the U.S.

As the internet dominates our world, Campus Crusade for Christ seizes the opportunity to use this tool to share the gospel all over the world and begins an internet ministry division in 1996. We are currently reaching out internationally to women (www.womentodaymagazine.com), youth (www.iamnext.com), and the general population (www.powertochange.com) through the internet and online mentoring.

By the year 2000, Campus Crusade for Christ International, the parent organization for the campus ministry, had more than 24,000 full time staff members, and more than 500,000 trained volunteers serving in 191 countries. Founder Bill Bright passed the leadership torch to new president Steve Douglass, formerly executive Vice President and director of U.S. Ministries in 2001.

By 2003, the campus ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ had established active movements of evangelism and discipleship on more than 1,000 campuses with 44,000 students involved. Currently there are 2,900 full-time campus ministry staff members serving in the U.S. and internationally. The ministry is sharing the gospel with approximately 5 million students each year with 11,200 recorded decisions by students who accepted Christ in 2004.

In April 2004 Campus Crusade, Canada welcomed Leonard Buhler as a new president.

2006 was the year of the name change! The campus ministry division of Campus Crusade for Christ changed their name to Campus for Christ, eliminating the negative connotations that can be associated with “crusade” and what can potentially be a stumbling block for some.

TODAY - active on almost 30 level one campuses across Canada, Campus for Christ wants to see every student every year have multiple attractive opportunities to hear the gospel and respond. With God’s miraculous hand displayed in a history like this, there’s no telling where he will take us in the future!